Article
Article
Buckwheat
Article By:
Marshall, H. G. Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service and Department of Agronomy, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Uebersax, Mark A. Department of Food Sciences and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.098200
A herbaceous, erect annual plant belonging to the Polygonaceae family (typically the genus Fagopyrum), whose dry seed or grain is used as a source of food and animal feed. Buckwheat is not a true cereal and is one of the very few plants, other than those of the Gramineae (Poaceae) family, used for their starchy seed (Fig. 1), which is processed as a meal or flour. Buckwheat belongs to the Polygonaceae family, which also includes other common weeds (for example, dock, sorrel, knotweed, bindweed, smartweed and climbing false buckwheat). Species of buckwheat that have been commercially grown are Fagopyrum esculentum (F. sagittatum) and F. tataricum. See also: Caryophyllales; Cereal; Grain crops; Seed
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
